Ww1 Dbq

Fathers and fathers sons marched by the doors of daughters and distraught wives in the pursuit of their country's freedom. World War 1 was fought from July 1914 to November 1918. The main powers involved were Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. The war predominantly took place in Europe. What we want to know is, what was the hidden cause of WWI. Of the three most important causes of WW1, the main cause was militarism. Imperialism is not polite, nor should it be taken lightly into consideration as an important cause of World War 1. According to document D, Germans were not a fan of taking over another country, but everyone else has begun to Imperialize, “...the French have put down roots in North Africa and
As Document C shows, there was a steady increase of arms leading up to 1910- until 1914 hits and suddenly it's a race to bear arms. Germany has the largest increase in army, while Great Britain has the largest increase in the navy. This is proof that an increase for some becomes an increase for all. Bernhard Von Bülow states in Document D, “We don’t want to step on the toes of any foreign power, but at the same time we don’t want our own feet tramped by any foreign power… We don’t ever again want to become… the ‘slaves of humanity’. But we’ll only be able to keep ourselves at the fore if we realize that there is no welfare for us without power, without a strong army and a strong fleet.” Analyzing this statement, anyone can hear the hesitency in his writing, but the fear of other stronger countries of course shines above it all which is almost the definition of “Militarism”. The war was fought for 4 years long, when all could have been avoided with a little communication and limited growth in the military department. Countries gain fear, weapons, and war. All of which, have a direct link to each other. Although Imperialism, and Alliances were major causes of world war 1, Militarism shines above them